OBE is dead, long live content: PLATO

A group lobbying against outcomes-based education in Western Australia has welcomed signs a national curriculum will be content-based.

The head of the National Curriculum Board (NCB) Barry McGaw is in Perth this week to meet local teachers and to discuss the NCB's progress on a proposed national curriculum for maths, science, English and history, to be introduced after 2010.

Mr McGaw says the new curriculum will move away from the outcomes-based approach to focus on content.

The news has been welcomed by Marko Vojkavic from the lobby group PLATO.

"It's good to hear that finally we've come to our senses and to try and remove content from maths and sciences and history is just ridiculous," he said.

"I'm glad to hear that they're finally moving away from the outcomes-based approach.

"I think the death knell sounded for OBE about three or four years ago. It's just taking a long time to finally die, But definitely if Mr McGaw is good on his word then it's obviously the end of OBE as we know it."